Russ: A hundred moments that supposedly shaped podcasting... and maybe three of them involved an actual microphone.
Nadia: [laughs] That is one way to look at it. I'm Nadia.
Russ: And I'm Russ. It's Sunday, October 25th, and this is Feed Drop.
Nadia: Coming up, we're tracking the business of podcasting: what's getting made, what's getting bought, and what's actually getting heard.
Russ: So, an industry festival is celebrating ten years by making a list. A very, very long list.
Nadia: And a classic podcast is getting a new look. Or, really, any look. It's finally going visual.
Russ: Plus, a soccer drama filmed in Bali is being sold in Tokyo, and... somehow that's a podcast story? I have a lot of questions.
Nadia: Alright, let's start with that list. On Air Fest, the big ideas festival for audio, is celebrating its tenth anniversary.
Russ: Happy birthday to them. So they're having a party?
Nadia: They're marking the occasion by curating 'one hundred moments that shaped the podcast industry.' It's basically a highlight reel for the last decade of audio.
Russ: One hundred? I'm not sure there have been one hundred moments that shaped this industry. Serial, a couple of big acquisitions, maybe the invention of the Blue Yeti mic?
Nadia: [laughs] It's not just deals, Russ. They're including influential shows, technological shifts, key platform launches... they're trying to write the first draft of our history.
Russ: It sounds like self-congratulatory navel-gazing. Who is this list for? Is a normal person listening in their car going to care about 'the moment Anchor democratized podcasting'?
Nadia: Okay, maybe not. But they might find a great show they missed! It's a map of the landscape. For us creators, it’s a way to see whose shoulders we're standing on. For the industry, it's a way of saying, 'Hey, we have a history worth celebrating.'
Russ: Or it’s a way for the people making the list to make sure their moments are on the list. Come on.
Nadia: [sighs] You are so cynical. But this is important! It’s how you build an institution. It’s like the AFI 100 for movies. It creates a canon, it sparks debate.
Russ: So what's in it for the actual listener? Do I get a good playlist out of this, or is it just homework?
Nadia: Maybe both? You get a curated guide to the most important audio of the last decade. A chance to finally hear 'S-Town' or 'Dolly Parton's America' if you missed them. It's a huge discovery tool.
Russ: Fine. As long as I don't have to read all one hundred entries. I'll just wait for your top five.
Nadia: Okay, next up: an old cat is learning new tricks. Marc Maron's 'WTF' is coming to video.
Russ: Wait, WHAT? Why? The whole point of WTF is that it's two people in a garage. I don't need to see the garage. I can picture the clutter just fine.
Nadia: Because video is where the audience growth is, especially on platforms like YouTube and TikTok. This isn't really about the full episode, it's all about the clips.
Russ: Clips. So we're chopping up a two-hour conversation for people with no attention span?
Nadia: We're marketing a two-hour conversation to find new listeners. A powerful ten-minute clip from a big interview can go viral on YouTube. That's a huge on-ramp to the actual podcast.
Russ: So the hope is, someone sees a clip and then... goes and finds a podcast app to subscribe? Do people actually do that?
Nadia: It's the dominant path now! That's how most new shows break through the noise. And for a veteran show like WTF, it's about staying relevant and finding that next generation of listeners.
Russ: Ugh. Does this mean all my favorite podcasts are going to start making me watch them? I listen while I'm doing dishes, driving, walking the dog. I'm not available for a screen.
Nadia: That's the big question, right? For listeners, it just confirms the push to video is real. Your favorite indie show might stay audio-only, but I guarantee any podcast with a network behind it is having this exact conversation: 'What's our video strategy?'
Russ: Great. Now I have to worry if I look presentable while listening.
Nadia: [laughing] I promise, they can't see you. Alright, for our last story, let's take a trip to Italy... by way of Bali... and Tokyo.
Russ: Okay, you have to explain this one slowly. Variety reports that a soccer movie called 'Forza' is being sold at the Tokyo International Film Festival's market. Why is this on our radar?
Nadia: It's on our radar because of how it's being developed and sold. It's a Marco Balsamo project, stars an AC Milan legend, and a company called EST N8 is pitching it for international sales.
Russ: Right, a movie. With movie people. At a movie market. I'm still not seeing the podcast connection.
Nadia: The connection is the strategy. This is the new IP pipeline. Instead of a story starting as a podcast and just hoping to become a movie, this is being developed as a multi-format concept from day one.
Russ: What does that even mean? So it's not a podcast?
Nadia: It's a film for now. But the playbook they're using—high-concept story, big name attached, pitching it to an international market—it's the exact same playbook the big podcast studios use for a narrative series. The lines are totally blurred.
Russ: So... it's a trend story. We're talking about a movie because it acts like a podcast deal? My brain hurts.
Nadia: Exactly! And this is huge for listeners and creators. Your next favorite podcast might not even start as a podcast. The story could be sold as a film first, with the podcast just being one piece of the puzzle.
Russ: So the podcast becomes merch for the movie.
Nadia: Or the movie becomes the trailer for the podcast. It just depends on which one you find first.
Russ: Alright, let's recap. On Air Fest made a list of 100 things, and I'm still not sold.
Nadia: Marc Maron's WTF is now a TV show, sort of, because all podcasts must now be seen and not just heard.
Russ: And a movie about soccer is pretending to be a podcast, or the other way around. The IP singularity is here.
Nadia: [laughs] Alright, before we go, what are you actually listening to this week, Russ?
Russ: I just binged all of 'Bear Brook.' I know I'm late, but the way they use genetic genealogy to solve that cold case is just... incredible storytelling. Truly haunting.
Nadia: Oh, a classic. I've been on a completely different vibe. There's a show called 'The Memory Palace' by Nate DiMeo. They're just short, beautiful, perfectly sound-designed little bits of history. Almost like poems. Highly recommend.
Nadia: And that's our show. You can find links to everything we talked about in the show notes.
Russ: Feed Drop is a production of our respective home offices. Go listen to something great. We'll be back tomorrow.
This show is made with AI: the hosts’ voices are synthetic and the scripts are AI-assisted. Every story links to its original source.